Eat Right Kind of Food to Stay Away from Allergies

Food allergies can be serious and life-threatening for children as well as adults. You should seek advice of the experts who can help you in taking the right kind of food and prevent allergic reactions to your body. The dermatologists may ask to perform skin prick test for allergy to stay away from foods that cause harm to your body.

What is an allergy?

Allergy involves immediate response by the immune system that occurs within a few minutes after you eat or touch the substance you are allergic to.If there is delayed response of 4 to 28 hours, then it is known as non-IgE mediated allergy. Allergic symptoms may be from mild to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Common symptoms include – itchy, sneezing, nosechest tightness, cough, face, tongue, swollen lips, wheezing, eyes and runny eyes. You may feel sick, vomit r suffer from stomach pain.

What is anaphylaxis?

Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that affects your entire body. It usually begins within a few minutes of exposure and common causes are peanuts, eggs, shellfish, sesame, and tree nuts. Some drugs like penicillin, bee stings, latex and wasp are also dangerous.

If you suffer from allergy due to small amount of dirt and dust or had severe allergic reaction earlier, contact your GP and seek referral to perform skin prick test at a reputed clinic.

What is the difference between food allergy and intolerance?

Amena Warner, the head of clinical services at AllergyUK said, “Intolerances are different to food allergies – they are not caused by the immune system and are not life threatening.” Intolerances usually affect adults and rarely the infants, who are likely to suffer from allergy. The most common symptoms are gastrointestinal –loose stools, bloating or wind.

Other symptoms include – headaches, joint pains and rashes. There are no tests for food intolerances,apart from lactose.

How do you if you have food intolerance?

Food intolerances are usually diagnosed with a dietitian by cutting out the suspected food and waiting for the symptoms to improve and gradually reintroduce while assessing the symptoms. A food diary can be of great help in this situation. If cutting out the food does not have any impact on the body, then there might be another diagnosislike irritable bowel syndrome. The tests for lactose intolerance are not usually needed and NHS provision of the tests is often restricted to specialist centers.

When can you give peanuts to your child?

According to a recent study, it has been found that the early exposure to peanuts will lessen the risks associated of developing allergic reaction in kids. Another study for the Food Standards Agency suggested that giving some allergic foods to your child from the age of three months will dramatically decrease the risk of allergies to those items duringlater stages of life.

Your child may inherit thetendency to allergic conditions like asthma, eczema, hayfever and specific allergies called atopy. If you have the family record of atopy, it is advised to breastfeed for six months and start introducing solid foods to your kid. If your baby has allergic reaction to certain foods, they should not be given to him/her. However, avoiding potential allergens like peanuts may increase the chances of developing allergy. Make sure you are aware about skin prick test cost before undergoing it to know about allergic reaction for your body.